Comparative Study on Evaluation of Refrigerated (4±1ºC) Storage Stability of Paneer Incorporated with Crude Extract from Indian Curd, Nisin and Lactic Acid

The present study was conducted to evaluate the refrigerated storage (4±1ËšC) stability of paneer incorporating crude extract (CE) prepared from Indian curd in comparison with conventional preservatives like lactic acid and nisin. Four different batches of paneer sample viz. control (C), paneer with CE (T1), 0.5% lactic acid (T2) and 10 ppm nisin (T3) were analyzed at every 3 days interval until day 12. The free fatty acids, thiobarbituric reacting species and peroxide value were significantly (p<0.05) higher in control than other treatments, but T1 showed significantly (p<0.05) lower values. Significant (p<0.05) decrease in pH and water activities were observed during the storage period. Microbial counts of the paneer samples were highly significantly (p<0.01) affected by storage days and treatments. There was a significant (p<0.05) decrease in sensory scores for all the products. However, the scores were significantly (p<0.05) higher in T1 towards later parts of storage period. The results showed a significant (p<0.05) effect of CE on most of the quality parameters as compared to other treated paneer samples. Hence CE from Indian curd was considered the most desirable biopreservative among all preservatives used in this study for extending the shelf life of paneer.